Impact of Socio-Economic Factors on Nutrition Efficiency: An Application of Data Envelopment Analysis

Background: Paying particular attention to sustainable food consumption in low-income households is essential for increasing human health. Due to the growing population globally, this concept will likely become more serious soon.

Methods: Following the importance of optimizing food consumption for sustainability, in this study, a novel methodology is introduced for calculating nutrient intake efficiency and determining choices of food in different locations. The impact of socio-economic factors on nutrition efficiency is assessed. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) as a well-known linear programming (LP) and a Tobit model are used to achieve the goals. Household Consumption and Expenditure Surveys (HCESs) of 30,000 rural and urban Iranian households in all provinces in 2016 are analyzed. A Nutrient Efficiency Map (NEM) of Iran was depicted by GIS software.

Results: The results showed that many townships had nutrient efficiency scores of less than 70%. Northeast townships had the lowest scores, with an efficiency score of less than 50%. Overall, townships have lower efficiency in the North (seaside cities), East (desert cities), and North East (isolated cities) when compared with other areas.

Conclusion: Therefore, it is suggestible that the government should modify the support policies and the protection packages based on social, geographical, and cultural status.